How to Use a Pressure Cooker

By following the steps detailed below you can make many meals in a fraction of the time that stovetop or oven preparations will require. Pressure cooking also insures that your meats will be tender and all your dishes will retain the nutritious values that would otherwise be cooked out of them.

Steps:

1. Prepare foods according to your favorite recipes, excluding the cooking times and details.

2. No matter what you are cooking, using your pressure cooker, no more than 2" of water should ever be required. If you are using a grid or rack for your dish the water should not touch the portion of the rack or grid that your dish rests upon.

3. After placing your uncooked dish into the pot, secure the lid according to manufacturers instructions. Place the petcock, (that valve on the lid that releases steam and pressure) in the upward position until the contents of your pot begin to boil. About 10 minutes on a high heat setting. Once the contents have come to a boil, flip the petcock closed.

4. As a guide of sorts keep in mind that a turkey requires 45-60 minutes of cooking time for every two pounds. So a 10 pound turkey cooked in the oven would require 4-5 hours to prepare. Using a pressure cooker the same turkey will only require one to one and a half hours to cook.

Dried vegetables that have been soaked overnight usually taste best after cooking in an open pot for 3-4 hours. Using your pressure cooker this time is cut to 30-45 minutes.

5. For meats that you would normally prepare by baking or broiling, use a skillet large enough to accommodate the dish and approximately 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and brown the outer area of the meat. This will help hold the meat together. Without using this step before pressure cooking your meat will fall apart before you can remove it from your pressure cooker.

6. Your dishes can be prepared in your pressure cooker safely by building your temperature to 250 degrees or 15% pressure per square inch or psi. After a little experimentation you may discover that some dishes cook better by adding 5 minutes to the cooking time and lowering your temperature to 200-210 degrees.

7. After using your pressure cooker a few times you will discover the setting necessary to maintain the inner pressure or temperature of your cooker. Do not become so comfortable with this knowledge that you do not check occasionally to make sure that your cooker is not building to much pressure.